China drought leaves 13 mln thirsty

A truck brings drinking water to villagers in Xinchang County, east China's Zhengjiang Province, Aug. 15, 2013. Xinchang has suffered a lingering heat wave since July, leaving water sources dried up and 22,300 people short of drinking water. (Xinhua/Tan Jin)

BEIJING, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- A drought that has parched China's southern regions since last month has left nearly 13 million people without easy access to drinking water, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said Thursday.

Continuous hot and rainless weather in the provinces of Anhui, Hunan, Guizhou, Jiangxi, Hubei and Zhejiang, as well as Chongqing Municipality, has caused total crop failure on around 900,000 hectares of farmland.

Hunan and Guizhou are the worst-hit regions where 3.35 million and 2.98 million people respectively are facing water shortages. The provinces suffered 14 billion and 9 billion yuan in direct economic losses.

BEIJING, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- Drought plaguing the country's central and western regions has affected 95.77 million mu (6.38 million hectares) of farmland, China's drought relief authority said on Thursday. Full story

BEIJING, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- Extended scorching heat in China's central and eastern regions since July is imposing challenges on farming, while heavy rain in the north is further complicating grain production in the world's most populous nation. Full story

BEIJING, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- The central government has allocated 460 million yuan (75.16 million U.S. dollars) to ease drought and prevent floods, the Ministry of Finance announced Friday.

A total of 200 million yuan has been given to Hunan, Guizhou and Hubei provinces, where a record-setting heat wave has spread since July and caused water shortages, power supply issues and problems with growing crops. The temperature in some parts of the country has hit nearly 42 degrees Celcius. Full story